Natural Hazards intro

Question 1

What is a hazard?

Answer 1

Something that is a potential threat to human life or property.

Question 2

Geographical hazards

Answer 2

Linked to tectonics
Cause by land processes
They include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and tsunamis.

Question 3

Atmospheric hazards

Answer 3

Caused by climatic processes

They include tropical cyclones, storms, drought, extreme weather and wildfires.

Question 4

Hydrological hazards

Answer 4

Caused by water movement

They include floods and avalanches.

Question 5

Impacts of Hazards

Answer 5

Impacts are dependant on:
Frequency and magnitude
Population density
Time of day
Level of development 
Access to aid 

There is an inverse relationship between frequency and magnitude; the higher the magnitude the lower the frequency.

Question 6

Mount Belinda vs Stromboli

Answer 6

Mount Belinda, Montagu Island, erupted in October 2001 but posed no threat to people so wasn’t a hazard
whereas
Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, erupted in the same month. A group of tourists were pummelled by ash and lava bombs and one was killed, making it a hazard.

Question 7

Hazard perception - Wealth

Answer 7

Richer people are able to afford to move to places that are less prone to hazards, or build homes to withstand them, reduce the risks for them.

Question 8

Hazard perception - Religion

Answer 8

Some see hazards as an act of God sent to punish people, or will trust in his ‘plan’.
This approach is known as acceptance.

Question 9

Hazard perception - Education

Answer 9

Some people have a better understanding of the risks, and believe that it is possible to reduce or mitigate the impacts.
This approach is known as domination.

Question 10

Hazard perception - Past experience

Answer 10

People who live in hazard prone areas are likely to have experienced them before so will perceive them differently.

Question 11

Hazard perception - Personality

Answer 11

Some will fear hazards and some will think of them as exciting.

Question 12

Responses to Hazards - Fatalism

Answer 12

More common in LICs
People accept that there is a risk but choose to do very little about it.
There is limited organisational capacity leading to large loss of life however responses will be reactive.

Question 13

Responses to Hazards - Prediction

Answer 13

A helpful way to prepare places for their impact.
e.g. hurricanes. Evacuations can occur and people can secure windows. It isn’t always effective as winds can change their paths however it is better to give some form of warning.
Earthquakes are much harder to predict
More likely to occur in HICs due to the amount of qualified experts and availability of monitoring technology.

Question 14

Responses to Hazards - Adjustment/Adaptation

Answer 14

Changes in behaviour mean they will be able to cope better with future events.
More common in HICs due to cost.
e.g. Tornado Valley, Central USA
There are tornado shelters dug into the ground in which a family can be evacuated.

Question 15

Responses to Hazards - Mitigation

Answer 15

Action taken to reduce or eliminate long term risks from hazards. (includes prediction and adaptation)
e.g. retro-engineering older buildings mitigates danger from collapsing or fires.

Question 16

Responses to Hazards - Management

Answer 16

Identifying risks to human life and allocating appropriate resources to tackle the hazard.

Question 17

Responses to Hazards - Risk sharing

Answer 17

National and international responses in preparing for disasters are set out by the UNs International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).
Sharing information means that all countries can prepare better for hazards.

Question 18

The Park Response Model

Answer 18

A model to show the changing quality of life (e.g. social stability and economic activity) through the 5 different stages of a hazard.

Question 19

Stage 1 of the PRM

Answer 19

Pre-disaster
Quality of life is ‘normal’.
Preparation occurs - educating the population, stock piling supplies and putting medical teams on standby.

Question 20

Stage 2 of the PRM

Answer 20

Disruption
During and directly after the event occurs.
QOL dramatically deteriorates
People begin to respond by erecting barricades and evacuating.

Question 21

Stage 3 of the PRM

Answer 21

Relief
The aftermath of the event
Search, care and rescue teams work to prevent further damage, thus reversing the decline in quality of life.

Question 22

Stage 4 of the PRM

Answer 22

Rehabilitation

Shelter, aid and food are provided to return the QOL to normal levels.

Question 23

Stage 5 of the PRM

Answer 23

Reconstruction
Property and infrastructure are rebuilt and crops are replanted.
1 of 2 outcomes will result from this:
If the buildings are the same standard as before, the QOL will return to normal
or countries will have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and building will be higher quality, so the QOL improves.

Question 24

The Hazard management cycle

Answer 24

It consists of the steps that emergency managers take in planning for, and responding to, disasters, taking into account preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.
Each step in the disaster cycle correlates to part of the ongoing cycle that is emergency management. This disaster cycle is used throughout the emergency management community, from the local to the national and international levels

Question 25

The HMC - Preparedness

Answer 25

Planning how to respond e.g. warning systems, emergency exercise, evacuation

Question 26

The HMC - Mitigation

Answer 26

Minimising the impacts of disasters e.g. flood defences and fire resistant roofs.

Question 27

The HMC - Response

Answer 27

Reactions when a disaster occurs e.g. evacuation people, relief, search and rescue.

Question 28

The HMC - Recovery

Answer 28

Returning the community back to normal e.g. medical care, grants, restoring services, temporary housing.